The new site, which went live last month, provides information on arbitrators who have recently appeared in proceedings, and features interviews with leading arbitrators.

Global Arbitration Review said in an announcement that it hopes the new service will help people get a feel for arbitrators “in action”, an up-to-date sense of their performance, and the arbitrators’ preferred approach to discovery or cancellation – before encountering them in person.

The Arbitrator Research Tool, which is open to GAR subscribers only, launched with 40 individual arbitrator profiles and will have 150 by September 2017.

The profile pages tell you the number of cases heard by the arbitrator, laws with which they are familiar, languages spoken, and a Q&A with the arbitrator on their case management preferences.

All arbitrators are welcome to join the site, and profiles are published free of charge.

There is an experience requirement, though – the publication seeks arbitrators who have sat with at least three other arbitrators over the past three years in completed cases.

Alongside the arbitrators themselves, the site includes details of more than 700 co-arbitrators and chairs, and 1,200 counsel who have appeared before them.

“ART was conceived many years ago as a simple and elegant solution to a very real conundrum. How to close the gap between someone’s past reputation and their current performance without being unfair to them in the process, or breaking any data rules? ART solves that by mimicking a process that already goes on within the bigger arbitration shops, where people email each other and ask: “has anyone seen so and so?”

Global Arbitration Review and sister publication Who’s Who Legal both helped to compile the information for the Arbitrator Research Tool.

The London chapter of Law Firm Media Professionals, the group for law firm marketing and communications executives, has released the results of a survey into the ways in which UK law firms manage their relationships with legal directories.

Some of the responses formed the basis for a panel discussion last week, featuring myself, Ben Girdlestone, head of communications at the law firm Slaughter and May, Bruce Wraight from the Infinite PR agency, and an audience of law firm media people.

Who’s Who Legal, the London-based lawyer directory, has hired Rupert Wilson, a former Chambers & Partners man, as its new editor.

Mr. Wilson (pictured) joined Chambers in 2012 and worked as a researcher and then deputy editor prior to joining Who’s Who Legal this month.

He said to me:

“I am thrilled to have been appointed editor of Who’s Who Legal. I am excited to be joining a highly respected name in the directories market and look forward to helping WWL continue to provide outstanding research into global legal markets.”

Wilson replaces April French, who had been editor of Who’s Who Legal for five years, before joining the barristers’ chambers, 20 Essex St, last month.

Launched in 1996, Who’s Who Legal is a peer review-led lawyer directory that features 17,000 leading private practice lawyers from 100 countries.

Who’s Who Legal is produced by the legal publisher Law Business Research, which is also behind several other well-known legal titles such as Global Competition Review, Global Arbitration Review, and Latin Lawyer.